Paul Smith's Blog

Blogging again!

2009-01-17T06:22:00.000-08:00

I'm going to resume blogging. For now, I am blogging entire on my poker-related blog:

http://uclabruinz.blogspot.com

So you can keep up with my goings-on over there.

Mexico to Vegas

2008-05-31T09:53:00.000-07:00

Let's see, last weekend we were in Mexico. The weekend before was the Chicago trip. Now I am in Vegas for the World Series of Poker. Busy times, but full of fun. Don't really have time to write up a big recap from Mexico, and we didn't take many pictures, but it was the usual (very fun) stuff.

As for Vegas, I will be our here off and on for the next five weeks, and will be updating my poker blog (linked over on the right) on a daily basis, so you can keep track of my results over there if you are so inclined.

Lexie's graduation is also upcoming (wow, can't believe she's going into junior high). I will try to post some pics of that as well as anything else going on.

Chicago Trip Recap

2008-05-19T06:27:00.000-07:00

Laureen and I got back yesterday from our trip to Chicago for a couple Cubs games and meeting up with a bunch of my old high school friends. It was an amazing trip, and Laureen commented on the flight home "I love Chicago and could definitely see living there part-time someday." Wow, loved hearing that. We've often talked about once Lexie goes off to college spending a full baseball season in Wrigleyville. We'll see, that's so many years down the line. For now, I think she's definitely in for at least one annual trip to Chicago.

We flew in on Thursday, got checked into our hotel, and were picked up by my friend Scott who lives in Wrigleyville. He took us down to his condo, which was a very cool Chicago-style 3-level place. The weather was very cool so our plans to barbeque out on their deck got scrapped and we headed to Harry Caray's across from the Wrigley Field bleachers to catch the last two innings of the Cubs defeats of the Padres. It was great fun, although I wouldn't say I loved Harry's. Here's how it looks outside and a couple pics from inside:

Scott's a Sox fan (yes, a Sox fan living in Wrigleyville), so he and Laureen had a good chat and were very understanding of the fact I was hanging on every pitch of the game. After the Cubs won and we had a few drinks, we headed down to pick up Scott's wife downtown and got a nice "tour" from Scott of some Chicago highlights. They took us to a place the name of which escapes me, but it was a sorta very casual Chicago-ish place with incredibly good ribs. Here's a pic of Laureen and I enjoying the food and atmoshere, and me working over my ribs!

We debated heading back to Wrigleyville, but made a very smart decision considering the two days of games and partying to come and headed back to the hotel to crash out for the night.

Friday morning we headed down to Wrigleyville pretty early as I still had to pick up a couple tickets on the streets, and I wanted time to take Laureen to my favorite bar on earth, Murphy's Bleachers directly across from the entrance to the bleachers at Wrigley. It's amazing how the atmosphere at Wrigley is always already there 2-3 hours before game time. We headed over to Murphy's and I got my polish sausage and Laureen had an excellent cheeseburger, and of course I got myself a bloody mary and then some of the very good Murphy's house pale ale.

We walked a lap around Wrigley looking for tickets and there didn't see to be much around, but I think I was trying a bit early. The weather was near perfect and I was definitely regretting my decision to wear jeans. Anyway, we found tickets for $60/each. The weather definitely jacked up ticket prices so I didn't haggle much and just took the deal. Here's some pictures from our "lap" around Wrigley:

After heading back into Murphy's for another beer and for Laureen to have her first drink, we headed into the bleachers about 1.5 hours before game time in order to make sure we got a seat in prime bleacher territory (for those who don't know, the Wrigley bleachers are general admission). The game was outstanding, a Cub victory 7-4. Soriano hit two home runs, and Kerry Wood came in to save the game. Kerry is one of my favorite all-time Cubs, so I'm glad I got to see him pitch, and pitch well. The weather was so warm, Laureen had to scrap her long sleeve shirt and purchased a Cubs tanktop, which made me a very happy husband. Game pictures:

Post-game we headed over to Cubbie Bear to celebrate. I'm not a big fan of the loud, partying atmosphere in the main part of that bar, but the back area bar is actually pretty cool and relatively mellow. Scott showed up to meet up with us again, and we enjoyed some food and drinks and then headed over to Sluggers to finish up the night, where we met up with "Ronnie Woo-woo," who seems to be everywhere in Wrigleyville. Here's a picture with Ronnie:

We caught a cab back to the hotel and crashed out for the night, having a hard time believing we were going to do it all over again the next day, and add in the "meetup" with a bunch of high school friends after the game. We headed down against Saturday morning. This time we had tickets, so things were a little easier, and we took it a little slower due to the impending post-game festivities. Anyway, some Saturday game pictures, which was a great game but ended with a disappointing one-run loss, with Derek Lee hitting a ball to the warning track right in front of us that would have won the game if it made it out:

So we headed over to Mullen's, a bar that I like quite a bit. I don't understand why all these bars feel the need to pump music so loud after the game that it makes it difficult to have a conversation. It seems logical to play it loud enough to be heard and enjoyed, but not so loud that your patrons have to shout at each other. A friend pointed out that it's because there are studies that people drink more when the music is louder. LOL? Anyway, Mullens is actually relatively reasonable and it has a Chicago-vibe to me, and that's where we spent the rest of the night with my friends from high school. Five of my friends showed up, some with their friends, and we had a great time. Laureen in particular really enjoyed herself and had no trouble fitting in with the group. Some pictures:

Pictures from Epic Vegas Weekend

2008-04-18T19:28:00.000-07:00

Having Laureen and Lexie around both before and after the big win was amazing. I thought I would post a few pictures before I head back to Vegas for the WPT Championship event on Sunday morning. Details, as always, on my poker blog at http://uclabruinz.blogspot.com/.

This is how I prepared the morning of the final table:

Vegas again

2008-04-10T09:55:00.000-07:00

We are out in Vegas until Sunday. I am playing some WPT events and the girls are having fun seeing shows, walking around, and hanging out by the pool. We are staying at MGM Signature, which are condos attached to the MGM. So you get all the MGM facilities but a condo away from the madness. Pretty incredible, we absolutely love it.

I will be playing 3 events, the first one starting today. Updates on my poker blog at http://uclabruinz.blogspot.com if you are interested.

Laureen's Birthday, Mexico, and Bad News Bruins

2008-04-06T19:44:00.000-07:00

Well, the Bruins picked a bad time to have a really bad game, and yes watching it was absolutely brutal. Thankfully, we chose to watch the game with our friends down in Mexico, so I handled the loss pretty well and didn't let it ruin my weekend (how could I given where I was?). We had near-perfect weather, near-perfect water conditions, and near-perfect fun. And, it was Laureen's birthday and she had a blast. I fully wakeboarded for the first time in a few years given my knee surgeries, and had a great time and can't wait to do it again. Laureen also had a great "birthday" ride, and Lexie and Carson both wakeboarded (quite well!). Here's a few pictures and a couple videos of the kids boarding.

Phoenix Recap (Go Bruins!)

2008-03-31T05:56:00.000-07:00

Sometimes last-minute trips just come together in all the right ways. The hotel was decent. It was two blocks from the arena. We got an early check-in no problem, I hooked up with the guy who had the tickets I was buying and they were just as advertised, and we headed out to get some lunch and try to find some pregame festivities.

We checked out one place that I had been to for a Cubs game but it was empty and they were serving very limited food. So we wandered down to the corner and Laureen said, "it looks like there is a bar down that way" and Lexie said, "they have UCLA banners up!" So we headed over there, and sure enough they were set up for the official pre-game "Bruin Bash." While pricey ($50/adult, $20/kid), this turned out to be a great find, as the entire place ended up being filled with Bruins and they had an all you could eat buffet and open bar. The band showed up along with the cheerleaders. It was a great atmosphere and we had a blast.

As for the game, the seats were pretty good, the atmosphere was great, and the Bruins played a pretty dominating game, methodically building a lead that they never relinquished, ending up winning by 19 points. We got to wander down courtside and watch them cut down the nets and hoist the Western Regional trophy, and now they are off to San Antonio for the Final Four.

After the game we headed back to the same restaurant/bar, but we were exhausted and quickly finished up our dinner and headed back to the hotel, where we basically collapsed after a very, very long day. We got up around 6am on Sunday and headed for home so that we could enjoy most of our Sunday and I could play the Sunday major online poker tournaments (which turned out being a good thing as I won my first WSOP Main Event package of the year, hopefully many more to come, and had a 4th place in another tournament for a decent payday).

It was a great, great trip. Downtown Phoenix was really nice, and we look forward to getting back out there soon, hopefully for a Cubs series.

Some pictures:

In Phoenix for Bruins

2008-03-29T10:39:00.000-07:00

We are about 30 minutes outside of Phoenix on our way to see the Bruins play Xavier today for the West Regional Championship with the winner heading to the Final Four. I have friends often ask when I work as I'm always seem to be doing "fun" things, well for the last three hours Laureen has been driving and I have been on my laptop working, thanks to my cell phone's broadband internet access. Modern technology, gotta love it.

Anyway, long drive (5 hours) but hopefully worth it when we watch the Bruins cut down the nets late this afternoon. Game time 3:4o pm Pacific time. GO BRUINS! Will take and post pictures.

Vegas Recap

2008-03-26T21:01:00.000-07:00

Had a great 2-night trip out to Vegas. Basically I played a few hours of semi-serious poker in the late mornings into the early afternoon at Bellagio, then headed over to MGM to play copmletely "for fun" and enjoy some beers. Got to play a little poker with my old high school friend, and enjoyed a couple poolside beers, and went out to a very good Mexican-food dinner where we drank way too much in the way of margaritas. I ended up winning a nice chunk of money and having a very good time, and now am scrambling the rest of this week to catch up with work. We might head out to see UCLA in Phoenix on Saturday, we'll see.

Vegas for fun?

2008-03-23T07:58:00.000-07:00

Heading out to Vegas this Easter morning, writing from the airport right now. Heading up to meet up with an old friend from high school. Originally it was supposed to be a long weekend with Laureen and Lexie but Lexie's run to the basketball championship made that impossible.

Still, it is nice to be going for fun instead of "work" in the sense that most of my live poker playing consists of playing very high stakes tournaments that are very demanding. This trip I'll be playing some low-stakes cash no-limit games, drinking some beers, watching some March Madness today, hanging out with my old friend I haven't seen but twice in the last 20 years or so, etc. Coming home on Tuesday morning.

By the way, how about that Bruin game last night? I may get an eviction noticed from my neighborhood for all the screaming and yelling I was doing. Hopefully that was the ONE game they had to go through that every championship team has to have. Anyway. on to the Sweet Sixteen, and GO BRUINS!

Another Championship for Lexie

2008-03-22T18:28:00.000-07:00

Lexie's 5th/6th Grade basketball team won the league championship today. So during this school year she has won a soccer championship and a basketball championship. Pretty cool. Here's a couple pictures:

Coach Wooden

2008-03-20T16:04:00.000-07:00

Hopefully everyone is enjoying March Madness, probably my favorite sporting event. As you do, also enjoy this treasure on Coach Wooden, who teaches so much beyond basketball or sports.

Lexie: Another Championship?

2008-03-17T07:51:00.001-07:00

Lexie's basketball team won two playoff games this weekend, sending them to the championship game next Saturday. The games were pretty amazing, particularly Sunday when they came back from 5 down going into the 4th quarter and scored two very late baskets, including one with just a few seconds left, to win the game. I am extremely proud of Lexie's play and contributions to the team.

Her soccer team also won a championship this year. Pretty cool if she can be part of two championship teams in the same year!

Poker Trip

2008-03-10T06:43:00.000-07:00

Heading up to San Jose tonight for the WPT Bay 101 $10k buyin. I will have daily updates on my poker blog at http://uclabruinz.blogspot.com.

Lexie's Report Card

2008-03-08T09:01:00.000-08:00

Funny quote from Lexie yesterday after she showed us her near-perfect report card: "Do colleges look at 5th grade report cards?"

They grade on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the max. She got all 4's except one 3. She also maxed out on effort and behavior grades except one "M" for "Meets Expectations" in performing arts. I asked her what that's all about, and she said "that's because I hate square dancing!" Can't blame her for that. How absurd is it that 5th graders are forced to square dance with each other?

Anyway, just felt I had to brag about my kid once again. I wish we could take credit for being great parents, but she's just one of those kids who does it almost all on her own. We are very fortunate.

Go Bruins!

2008-03-07T10:47:00.001-08:00

Even Marley's getting into the spirit of March Madness! GO BRUINS!

Cubs Spring Training

2008-03-06T07:16:00.001-08:00

I am on a very quick trip to Tucson to see my Dad and take in a Cubs spring training game. I flew in yesterday morning around 11am, took in the Cubs game with my Dad at 1pm, went out to dinner with some family, and then played a little family poker. Quite a fun day. The Cubs lost because their "scrub" players couldn't hold a 4-1 lead, but the players who will be on the roster played well and it was fun seeing Carlos Zambrano pitch well, and he hit a home run as he is apt to do from time to time. Today we're going to play a little golf this morning and then I'm catching a flight home at 7pm tonight. Quick, fun trip. Here's a picture of my Dad and me at the game yesterday.

Foo Fighters - Epic Night

2008-03-04T07:18:00.000-08:00

Laureen and I have had our floor tickets for the Foo Fighters for awhile, but last week we decided to take the plunge and take Lexie with us, her first major hard rock concert on a general admission floor. The plan was not to try to hard to get up front and kind of always have a route to a "safe" area of the floor where it wasn't jam packed. Well, plans change.

We headed down near the arena for dinner and drinks, but we didn't hit traffic so got there early, finished earlier then expected, parked at the arena relatively easily, and found ourselves about 50 deep in the line to get in. Once they let us in, we were able to easily stake out a spot right in the front, on the rail, that would be directly in front of the lead guitarist. The plan was for Laureen and Lexie to be on the rail, and me to stand behind them and "hold off" the crowd. It worked, but was quite an effort.

We made it through two opening acts with no problem. The people around us seemed relatively cool and that always helps. I even made it out to hit the bathroom and grab a brew and back for the 2nd opening act. Once the Foo Fighters hit the stage, though, it was clear we were at a major concert with a pretty crazy floor. Our plan worked, but not without a lot of effort by me holding off the crowd and a few real jerkish young guys doing anything they could to try to weasle their way onto the rail. There was quite a bit of "crowd surfing" going on around us which was pretty funny. Security was outstanding. They gave Lexie a bottle of water, and kept an eye on her throughout the concert.

The concert was absolutely amazing. There is nothing like being right up front for a concert. Lexie had an incredible time. When considering taking her, we thought it might be an experience she would never forget, and based on her comments during and afterward, I'm pretty sure we accomplished that. She never waivered or showed signs of fatigue. It helped she knew very well almost ever song the Foo played. She also did a pretty good job with the camera. Here's a couple of videos she took with our digital camera:

And here are a few pics we took:

Foo Fighters

2008-03-03T06:24:00.001-08:00

We're headed to the Foo Fighters concert tonight with floor tickets in hand. Will post pics and thoughts tomorrow. Looking forward to this:

Poker

2008-02-24T07:22:00.001-08:00

I made it through day 1 of the LA Poker Classic Main Event. Details on my poker blog, linked over on the right.

Back home, for now....

2008-02-22T07:55:00.000-08:00

We are back home after a fun 2-nighter trip up in LA. We didn't snap much in the way of pictures, and what we did snap didn't come out particularly well, but here's a few anyway from the Clippers game.

Clippers Game

2008-02-21T05:59:00.000-08:00

Well I busted out very quickly from my poker tournament (details on my poker blog linked on the right if you are interested), so we decided last minute to go the Clippers/Grizzlies game at Staples with Don, my father-in-law. Quite a huge difference between a Laker game and a Clippers game. Still pretty fun, but we were pretty tired so we bailed out late in the 3rd quarter.

Almost certainly heading home later this morning, although there's a small chance we may stay until tomorrow so we can go to the UCLA game tonight. Depends on our dog-sitting situation.

Laker Game

2008-02-20T07:35:00.000-08:00

I sat 5th row center court for the Laker game vs. the Atlanta Hawks last night, a ticket provided courtesy of my poker backers. Pretty sweet. I am not a Laker fan or even an NBA fan, but it was a lot of fun, and the Lakers have a pretty nice team. Seem to have good chemistry. I enjoyed getting to see Jordan Farmar, ex-UCLA star.

I forgot my camera, so all I could do was snap a few shots with my phone. The Staples Center is quite an arena. They have two levels around the court that all appear to be excellent seats. Then, they have three straight levels of box suites, then a nosebleed section above those. The nosebleeds appear to be higher up then any arena I have ever been to, so its good to know for future events I'd rather stay home then sit up there.

Phil Jackson is on the Laker bench (I am a big fan of Phil's from back in the Chicago Bulls dynasty days):

That's Jack Nickolson sitting to the left of the guy in the black hat courtside.

Movie Recommendation

2008-02-18T08:32:00.000-08:00

We managed to squeeze in a movie rental this weekend: 3:10 to Yuma starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. Outstanding movie with outstanding performances. Highly recommended.

Busy week ahead

2008-02-15T09:54:00.000-08:00

I have a crazy 8+ days coming up. I'm playing in the LA Poker Classic this afternoon, which if I last will go until 4am in the morning and then resume at 9pm Saturday night. You can follow my poker happenings in the LAPC on my poker blog, linked over on the right side of this page. Sunday is a big day for online poker with the Full Tilt Series Main Event and a bunch of other big tournaments.

Tuesday morning I have a (short) trial in Santa Monica, then Tuesday night I've got a 5th row ticket to the Laker game courtesy of my poker backers. We'll be staying in LA Tuesday and Wednesday night, with me playing another LAPC event on Wednesday. Then next Saturday is the big $10k LAPC Main Event. Luckily, Lexie is off school for her first spring break all next week.

All this while being busy at work. Thank god for email, laptops, smartphones, etc.